Thousands of protestors demand president impeachment mechanism

Between 3,000 and 5,000 activists participated in the
People’s Impeachment March on Dec. 3 in central Kyiv led by Mikheil
Saakashvili, the head of the New Forces Movement. They demanded that Ukraine’s
parliament approve during its plenary session this week the second reading of a
bill to create an independent anti-corruption court and a bill creating an
impeachment mechanism. If these demands are not met, Saakashvili called for gathering
on the central maidan on Dec. 10. Previously, Saakashvili called for “a
people’s impeachment” beginning Dec. 3 if the protest’s demands were not met.
“I am going to travel throughout the country and raise up people, with any
provocations, peacefully and calmly, justifiably, with a concrete plan and
candidates for concrete positions,” he said in mid-November, adding that he’ll
be ready to take over as prime minister.

Zenon Zawada: There’s great
speculation as to who is backing Saakashvili’s protest movement, with some even
thinking the president is using him as controlled opposition. But the rubber
hits the road this week with the parliament back in session. We don’t expect
parliament will meet all the movement’s demands, which also include a new election
law creating an exclusive proportional, open-list voting system. So that means
Saakashvili will have to follow up on his call to gather on the maidan on
Sunday. However, Kyiv’s famous central maidan is currently occupied by large
photographic displays, several meters high, that pay tribute to the Ukrainian
forces in Donbas. (We believe the exhibit was intentionally left in place to
prevent another maidan from gathering.)

So it’s unclear whether
Saakashvili’s forces will attempt to remove this exhibit, and possibly set up a
second tent city (besides the one currently outside the parliament building). If
they fail to follow up on these declared plans, Saakashvili & Co. will lose
what little support they currently enjoy among a demoralized public. So we expect
tensions to escalate by Sunday between Saakashvili’s movement and the
Presidential Administration.